What You Can't Do With A Prenup...
Make rules about nonfinancial matters. For practical reasons, you should keep personal agreements out of your prenup. Here is a partial list of nonfinancial matters that sometimes find their way into prenups, but are better dealt with separately. Of course, the possible issues are endless and you may well think of many that aren't mentioned here:
* responsibility for household chores -- from laundry to cleaning to car care
* use of last names after you marry
* agreements about having and raising children, such as birth control, having children, children's names, child care responsibilities, and education
* how you will relate to in-laws or stepchildren, and
* whether you will have any pets and who will be responsible for them.
These kinds of nonmonetary agreements aren't binding in court, and in fact they could cause a judge to take your entire prenup less seriously. Rather than including personal matters in your prenup, you may find it helpful to simply make a list of your most important concerns and discuss them together. If you want to take it a step further, you can underscore your commitment by writing down your personal agreements in a separate document -- perhaps in a letter that each of you writes to the other, clarifying your intentions and wishes.
Copyright © 2006 Nolo
